VICTORIA — Finance Minister Kevin Falcon predicts the B.C. government should balance its books by the next fiscal year.

Falcon made the comments in a release this morning as he issued updated projections by the B.C. Economic Forecast Council.

He says the council expects the provincial economy to post 2.2 per cent growth this year, unchanged from earlier predictions, but the 2013 forecast has been trimmed one-tenth of a point to 2.5 per cent.

The council's forecast average for the 2014-16 period remains the same at 2.7 per cent.

Falcon says the Liberal government's fiscal plan to control spending and protect revenues will allow him to balance the budget by the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

He points to breathing room created by some stabilization in the U.S. economy, but says the province must still be cautious to protect itself from an uncertain global economy, including the European debt crisis.